Send Me An Angel
by BOC42
Summary: A few cycles after 'Game Over,' a gamecube drops, trapping Dot and Mouse in a game with their worst memories and deepest desires.  What happens when your dreams become nightmares?
1. This is Bad

1**SEND ME AN ANGEL**

_I don't own ReBoot; all characters are property of Mainframe Ent. I just like to play with them. _

**This is Bad...**

Alarm claxons blared out in the Principle Office, warning its hapless inhabitants of an incoming Game. Sure enough, half a nano later, the dreaded female voice spoke, rolling over the splintered and degrading system. "Warning: Incoming Game. Warning: Incoming Game."

Dot Matrix was sitting behind her scorch-marked desk when the warning came. Her heart constricted, and a fierce wave of exhaustion broke over her as Mouse came skidding into the room, looking urgent.

"Come on, Sugah. Let's go!" And she turned around and began sprinting out of sight. Dot sighed and automatically followed the violent orange hair out of the office.

This was the third Game that had dropped since the one that had nullified Enzo and AndrAIa. No one had thought about the possibility of more Games dropping after Enzo's defeat. When it had finally happened, Dot and Mouse had stared at each other for a split nano, terrified, before Mouse had grabbed her and dragged her out of the Principle Office and into the Game.

Now, Dot felt numb as she sprinted to catch up with Mouse. She knew the drill: run quickly, act brave, win the Game, accept the weak congratulations, then go back to hiding in her office. She was the leader. She had to be strong for everyone else, even though she had long since given up. Mouse's footsteps halted at the exit to the Principle Office, and Dot turned the last corner and caught up with her. They gave each other a last look and activated their zipboards as one and flew towards the deep purple monstrosity descending into a nearby sector.

Dot had lost all feeling concerning the Games. After the first one, she had seriously considered instructing everyone to ignore the Games and simply evacuate the sector affected. But then, lost Games would only destroy Mainframe faster than Megabyte could. As much as she hated the Games for stealing her little brother from her and reminding her of Bob, she knew they had to be fought and won. She just didn't like it.

Dot looked up to watch as the Game dropped over them in midair, remembering how the instinctive terror of Games had been abetted when Bob had been here. He had always taken care of the Games without ever seeming to fear them. Of course, most of his courage had only been his natural devil-may-care attitude towards life, but he was still incredibly brave...in a show-off, impress-the-girls kind of way.

The Game swallowed her up and continued its descent to the floor of the sector. Dot blinked and found herself staring at a huge castle surrounded on all sides by at cold moat. It was raining.

Mouse was shaking her head. "We're in for it, love. I've seen this Game before. It's called Wizards and Warlocks."

Dot forced herself to apply her mind to the task at hand. "What's so bad about that?"

In answer to her question, a large dark-robed wizard came streaking past on a broomstick, wand drawn. Red flames shot from it, and Dot and Mouse ducked to avoid them. The sparks raced past them, burning sizzling holes in trees behind them.

"I see what you mean," Dot yelled to Mouse, ducking more sparks and trying to see what the User was doing. Flying magnificently, the User swept upwards on his broom, entering the castle through a broken window above the main entrance.

They straightened up, a bit shaken. "We have to beat the User to the upper level of the castle and find the Wand of Enlightenment. But we have to really careful." Mouse pointed at the castle. "It's a right maze in there, and there's all sorts of enchantments and spells at work. Best to stick together and be on the lookout."

"All right then, let's go for it," Dot said tiredly.

"Reboot!"

"Reboot!"

Dot blinked as the green light fell away from her and she found herself looking at Mouse, who was now wearing a black robe and carrying a wand. Her hair was pulled halfway away from her face, and had turned blonde. Dot raised her eyes in surprise. Mouse pulled a stray lock of her new hair up to her eyes and examined it. "Well, that's a change," she announced, flinging it back and looking over Dot's outfit. "You got some nice hair yourself."

She grabbed at her own hair, only to find that it had retained its jet-black color, and was now in a long braid that fell past her waist. She fingered it thoughtfully, remembering how she had worn her hair as a young child. She hadn't had it long since.

Letting go of her braid and turning towards the castle, Dot saw something orange and fiery zoom past Mouse's left shoulder, burning a hole in the drawbridge.

Mouse whirled around in surprise. Her eyes grew wide and she pointed. "Dragons!"

Dot began running towards the castle, casting a look over her shoulder. There were three of them, big ugly flying brutes, and they were closing in. Dot and Mouse hit the door at the same time and pulled angrily at the heavy handle. It didn't budge.

"Just great," mumbled Mouse, who began fumbling for her wand. "Get your wand out and hold those things off until I can open this door!" she commanded.

Dot found her wand and held it up, her fingers sweating. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but as the dragons closed in, gnashing their teeth and breathing more fire, a spell jumped to mind, "Extinguish!"

To her surprise, the dragon's fire breath went out immediately, one in mid-blow. Dot turned to Mouse. That was almost _too_ easy. "They can't breath fire anymore, but they're still coming," she said.

"I know. I'm workin' on it, Sugah." Mouse flicked her wand at the handle. "Unlock!" Nothing happened. Dot looked over her shoulder at the dragons. They were huge and menacing-looking, even though they couldn't breath fire anymore. One of the dragons, a brilliant white, landed on the ground not far away and began clawing at the ground. The other two snarled and roared angrily, closing in from above. Why wouldn't Mouse's wand work? Desperate for more time, Dot brandished her wand again, willing another spell to work.

"Vanish!" shouted Dot. Her wand emitted sparks, but they only seemed to irritate the dragons further. The white one roared angrily, gnashing its teeth, and lept forwards.

Dot backed up against the castle door. "Mouse, come on!"

"I'm tryin', honey!" All the same, Mouse cast a fearful glance over her shoulder.

Dot swallowed and pointed her wand again, praying with all her heart. "Vanish!" Again, nothing but sparks. The white dragon reared up, preparing itself to tear the two hapless sprites to shreds.

Mouse spun around and looked up at the monster. "Come on, lets try together!"

Dot raised her wand with Mouse, shrinking back against the door. The dragon clawed wildly at the air, screaming and shrieking. It dropped forward.

"Vanish!"

There was a loud crack, and the dragons vanished. Dot gasped for breath, sagging against the heavy door for support.

"I _hate_ this Game!" said Mouse, turning back to the door, exasperated. Dot looked at her. "Last time I was in this Game I was in the Supercomputer, and it was in a test simulation minutes ago." She flicked her wand again, muttering "Open." It didn't work. Mouse sighed and continued in a sort of edgy, hardened voice. "Guardians have a program where they can play new Games before they go out on the Net so they can catagorize them and train their cadets to win them.

"This Game," she kicked the door, "was the worst one they ever saw. See, it's never the same twice, and there aren't any rules. Anything can happen, and it's fair play. My wand doesn't work now, but a few nanos it might, and yours won't. Or they both won't work. We might get to level three, go through a door and be on level one."

Dot nodded. "So I've noticed. At this rate, we're not even going to get past the first level. Let me try." Praying it would work, Dot raised her wand to the door handle. "Enter." Obligingly, the door creaked open, and a musty smell came pouring out.

Mouse wrinkled her nose, jerking her head a bit. "Nice," she said, and lead the way into the castle. The pair turned from the door and began jogging across the empty hallway towards the only staircase visible.

A nano later they were pounding up a spiral staircase that seemed to have no beginning and no end. Somewhere in a distant part of the castle, Dot heard a shriek and a belated image of a gigantic spider descending down a staircase above her shook her.

Mouse noticed her shudder. "What's wrong?"

Dot took a deep breath, craning her head upwards to see if there was an outlet soon. There wasn't. "It's just these Games, Mouse. Enzo always thought they were fun...and some were. But I never felt safe in a Game unless...unless Bob was there. I guess they just remind me of what I've lost..." Dot looked around at the stairwell, a familiar aching sensation swelling inside of her.

Mouse put her hand on Dot's shoulder. "I know this is hard for you, love." She stopped abruptly. Dot turned too see what had caught her attention. Mouse was looking out into the darkness in the middle of the stairs, where a large wooden door had suddenly appeared, revolving in mid-air.

Their conversation was abruptly terminated. "Come on!" shouted Mouse, and she promptly dived out into midair. Her body hit the door and vanished.

"Mouse!" shrieked Dot, horrified. She stared at the spot, willing Mouse to reappear. The door continued to rotate silently in mid-air, as if daring her to jump.

She shouted again. "Mouse!" Her voice echoed mockingly up the chilly shaft. Angry, she turned back to regard the door. If she didn't go through it, the door might disappear, and she'd have no chance of getting to the second level. And besides, if Mouse's wand continued to refuse to work, she'd be deleted. There was nothing else for it. Taking a deep breath, Dot threw herself towards the door.


	2. Multitasking

1**Multitasking**

As Dot felt herself hit the door, a cheerfully bright light hit her eyes. She opened her eyes which had been clenched shut in anticipation of the impact, and found herself standing in her Diner. "What the..." As she was collecting herself, a jovial voice from behind her called out.

"Hey, Dot!"

She spun around, only to see Bob, alive and well, walk through the door she had just entered as if he did it every cycle of his life. "What in the net?" she gasped.

"What? Aren't I allowed to be here?" There was a note of sarcasm in his voice as he stepped towards her. "Is Enzo home from school yet, or am I early? I promised him we'd all go to the data slide together when he got home."

Bob was acting like nothing was wrong or out of place. He was just standing there, grinning at her, and Dot was staring back. "The data slide," she repeated stupidly.

"What's wrong, Dot?" He peered at her intently. "You don't look so well. Maybe we should go see Phonge."

It had to be some quirk in the Game that was allowing her to see him. She stared around her, breathing hard. Outside the window, Mainframe was alive and in full swing. The Diner was full of people, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cecil yelling at some poor binome over in the corner booth, and Frisket was snoring beside the doors, apparently waiting for Enzo to return. This was everything she wanted, everything she loved...this was home.

Dot shook her head to clear it, trying to ignore Bob's worried face next to her's. Yes, it had to be the Game. This had to be a level where each player was shown exactly what he or she wanted.

Bob's frown deepened. Quickly, he leaned over and planted kiss on her cheek.. "What's wrong, Dot? Overworked?"

Dot felt her body go ice cold while her cheek felt hotter than the Mainframe Central Core. He had _not_ just done that. "Bob! What the..."

At that exact nano, Enzo flew through the doors and into the diner, nearly toppling over a stool. "What's up, Dot?" Seeing the astonished look on Dot's face, he continued, " Did he bite you or something?"

Slowly, Dot turned her head to see her younger brother grinning broadly with his hands on his hips. He was still the little whirlwind of a sprite she loved, with his baseball cap on sideways and his yo-yo on his belt. "Enzo," she uttered, fighting the urge to pass out. "Enzo..."

Bob wrapped one arm around her waist. "Dot, are you okay?" Dot turned and looked at him blankly, trying to wrap her mind around the insanity of it all. "You've been working since before Enzo went to school, no wonder you're tired." He jerked his head towards the door. "Come on, a nice relaxing picnic is just what the doctor ordered."

"But Bob!" Enzo interjected heatedly, "You promised we were going to the data slide!"

Bob narrowed his eyes. "Enzo, your sister's tired. We can go later, kay?"

Enzo glowered at the guardian, and scuffing his sneakers as he went, walked back out the door and headed for Bob's car.

Despite the ridiculousness of it all, Dot smiled as she watched him go. Enzo was always the same, a fast-paced, easily pleased and easily disappointed kid. That had changed after Bob left. He had grown up, and she had had a hard time watching it.

"Should we go?" asked Bob. Dot had almost forgotten he was there in her awe at seeing her younger brother alive and well. How had she forgotten when he still had his arm securely around her waist, making her feel more comfortable than she had in a seconds?

"Lead on," said Dot, trying to feign that a picnic _was_ just what the doctor ordered. His arm moved from her waist to her shoulders, sending chills up and down her back. Why was he acting like this? _"...there aren't any rules. Anything could happen and it would be fair play." _That had to be it; the Game was showing her exactly, _exactly_ what her wildest dreams were. Everything was back to normal, except Bob. He treated her exactly the way she wanted him to.

Bob reached forward and pulled the door open for her, pushing slightly on her back. She smiled, relaxing into him as he led her over to his ever-troublesome car. As the fresh air of the outside hit her, contrasting sharply with the familiar and comforting smell of her Diner, she realized sadly that she had to escape. In the meantime however, she would savor every last milli-nano of her time with Bob and Enzo.

With some protest, Bob got the car in the air, and soon Enzo was leaning forward to the front seat, telling Bob animatedly all about the ball game he'd played in class that day. Dot stared out over the city, half wondering how to leave it and half wondering how the Game had gotten the smell of Bob's car exactly right. It smelled like his garage and a bit like his apartment. When was the last time she had been in his apartment? When was the last time his apartment was still standing? She looked out over the city, sighing to herself. When was the last time _any_ of Mainframe had been standing?

Maybe that was it; she had to _leave_ Mainframe. By turning her back on her fondest desires, she would probably cue the next level of the Games, where, hopefully, she could find Mouse again.

_Thunk._ Enzo had rammed the front seat. Dot blinked and turned back to her brother and friend.

"We totally wiped the field with their bitmaps, Bob! It's that awesome?" Enzo concluded his lengthy story. He was grinning at Bob, eagerly awaiting the praise he was sure would come. Bob wasn't one to disappoint.

"That's great, Enzo!" Bob congratulated, smiling at Enzo. "Isn't it, Dot?"

"Yeah," she agreed, though she hadn't heard a word of Enzo's story. She had been too busy musing over the Game's quirks and plotting escape. The nano they landed and the boys were busy, she would have to slip away and leave. How, she had no clue. She couldn't get very far on her zipboard, but that was all she had with her. The boys would chase her, she knew it, but maybe if she sabotaged Bob's car, she could get a head start.

Before she knew it, the car was landing smoothly on the lawn of their favorite park, and Enzo was jumping out to greet Frisket, who had been running along below them.

"Hey, boy!" Enzo shouted and grabbed Frisket, petting him enthusiastically.

Bob chuckled. "Same old Enzo." Turning to Dot, he asked, "So, what were you working on that has you so tired?"

The question caught her off guard. "Oh, you know business, there's lots to do," she said, trying to sound nonchalant, all the while forcing herself to decide which direction it would be easier for her to escape. Of course, Bob could track her with Glitch. She'd have to take Glitch too and drop it somewhere along the way.

Bob slid over in his seat, putting his arm behind her. Dot's stomach flopped. _Ignore it_, she told herself sternly. "So, what have you been up to all day?" she asked, fishing for a way out.

He shrugged. "Oh, this and that. Not much. I try to stay out of the way until you're ready to take a break from work, remember?" He kept sliding closer.

"Really?" she asked.

He nodded and let his arm drop around her shoulders. "Yeah. Have to let you get all that work done sometime. It was part of our deal, remember?" he asked, leaning in.

"What deal?" she asked automatically, pulling away ever so slightly.

"That whole lecture you gave me about how our relationship couldn't get in the way of your work."

Her resolve tore in half. They actually had a 'relationship?' "Yeah...um..." she fished around for a random topic, heart thudding loudly. "Where's AndrAIa?" she asked quickly, before he could get too close.

"Who?" he asked. "Dot, you really should get some rest before you hurt yourself."

His worry, however, didn't seem to stall his progress in crossing the space between them.

Dot turned her head, looking around for Enzo. "Where did Enzo get to?" she said, trying

to distract herself from the fact that she feel the energy from his body.

"Who knows?" said Bob. "Give him a nano and he'll remember we've got lunch."

He seemed very uninterested in what he was saying. Glancing down, Dot saw Glitch attached to Bob's left arm. If she could just distract him long enough to get it... It clicked. Dot took a deep breath and looked back up at Bob, smiling sweetly. "I hope he doesn't remember that we have lunch _too_ soon."

Bob grinned at her. "Now _that's_ more like it."

Accomplished business woman though she was, Dot Matrix had never found it so difficult to multitask before. It was several moments before she remembered she was supposed to be confiscating Glitch from him. Even when she did remember, doing it took quite a while. She had just nabbed it and attached it to her belt when a voice interrupted her very busy thoughts.

"Heh, hem! Paging Bob and Dot! Where's lunch?"

Bob pulled away from her abruptly, and she saw Enzo leaning on the hood of the car looking vaguely disgusted.

"Do you _have_ to do that when I'm watching?" Enzo sounded grossed out. He glared at Bob as if betrayed. "Aren't you afraid you'll get cooties or something?"

"I've had my shots," laughed Bob.

"Lunch is in the trunk," said Dot, jerking her head toward the rear of the car. "Come on, I'm starving," she said truthfully, and hopped out of the car before Bob could do anything else.

Fifteen nanos later, Enzo had cajoled Bob into playing frisbee with him and Frisket, and they were running around the park shouting. Dot looked up at them from the blanket she was sitting on, grinning with giddiness and feeling like she had a null squirming around inside her.

She had no right to feel this happy, not when there was a Game to be won. She shouldn't be sitting here, selfishly enjoying herself while Mouse might be in trouble elsewhere in the Game. Dot swallowed hard, a dread of losing everything a second time making the pleasant squirm in her stomach turn to a hard knot.

_You have to leave, Dot. You've got to. Do it, get up. Get up now! _Dot took a deep breath, pulling her legs under her. _And where are you going to? _asked another voice in her head. She took a deep breath and a long last glance at the boys, who were now chasing Frisket across the park. She had almost stood up when Frisket did a U-turn and headed right towards her, the boys in tow.

"Dot, catch Frisket!" shouted Enzo, panting. "He's got our frisbee!"

Automatically, Dot knelt down, holding her hand out and inviting Frisket to come to her. He ignored her and barreled on past, frisbee dangling from his jaws. Enzo came panting along a short distance behind, eager to catch his dog. Bob stopped once he reached the blanket and bent over, gasping for air.

"Enzo...I think it's time to do something else now," he huffed.

"Come on, Bob," Enzo begged, standing at the edge of park. "That's my only frisbee, and he'll eat it."

"No he won't," replied Bob, and he began to reach for his keytool. "I'll just get Glitch to...Glitch?" Bob grabbed at his wrist. "Where's Glitch?"

Thinking fast, Dot asked, "Do you think Frisket got it?"

Bob glowered at the receding form of the dog. "I bet he did when he knocked me over...come on, Enzo. We've got a dog to catch!" And Bob started after Frisket once more.

Dot smiled sadly as they ran off. She had to say goodbye...get in one last word... "Stay frosty, boys!" she shouted. Bob waved his arm to show he had heard, but spared her no glance, and continued chasing Frisket.

There was nothing else to do now but leave. Resigning herself, Dot pulled out her zipboard and mounted it, steering herself away from the boys and towards Bob's apartment. The air whipped past her as she headed out over Mainframe. In almost no time at all, Bob's apartment appeared below her, and she glided down, landing by his front door. Looking around to make sure she was alone, she slowly lifted Glitch from her belt and placed it by the door. Standing back up, a huge lump swelled in her throat and tears burned her eyes as she remember the last time she had touched Glitch. She'd been torn from Bob then, too. With tear- stained eyes, Dot turned and left.

All she could see on three sides was the data sea, churning and rippling away. Behind her was Mainframe, where Enzo and Bob would have finally noticed her absence and be looking for her. Not for the first time, Dot wondered if she shouldn't just give up. It would be so much easier to just go back and stay with Bob and Enzo, even if they weren't exactly the way she remembered them. She'd have them, wouldn't she? It would be much easier to stay here and be happy for a few more nanos, and then simply be nullified, where, if the User was kind, she would find herself with them again.

Because she _had_ given up. She had given up on ever seeing Bob again in this life. All of her friends and family were gone; she alone remained to fight a losing battle. Crying herself to sleep night after night, the image of the afterlife had become quite clear. She would fall down one cycle, utterly spent and drained of all energy and life, and when she opened her eyes, the first thing she would see would be a pair of boots. Looking up, she would see Bob grinning down at her, stretching out his hand to help her up. She would take his hand and he would pull her up and hug her, and everyone she had ever lost would be around her, welcoming her home.

As Dot's thoughts strayed into an abysmal future, a thick mist began to swirl around her. Alerting her to the present, she almost panicked. She had no idea where she was or where she was going. She had thought that once this far away from Mainframe's clone, she would have left this level behind. The mist became blacker and blacker, obscuring everything from view. She could no longer feel the zipboard below her: she seemed to be flying along into oblivion with no control over it.

"Dot! Dot, can you hear me!"

Dot jerked her head frantically towards the voice. Somewhere, out in all the darkness, she could hear Bob yelling, the same words she had heard garbled through a vidwindow when Hexadecimal had painted the city.

"Dot! Dot, can you hear me!"

The words were frantic and loud, and Dot spun this way and that, trying to locate their source.

Every moment of anxiety she had ever felt came flooding back through her mind: Phonge was telling her that Bob had lured the Codemaster into a Game to delete him. Megabyte was threatening to make her use her exoskeleton suit to crush Bob; a bomb had just exploded and she was sure Bob was deleted; Bob was speeding away on his zipboard, trying to get rid of the Web creature before it hurt anyone else; Megabyte was holding Bob by the neck, crushing Glitch; Hexadecimal was keeping Mouse and herself from helping him out of the capsule...

"No!" She was losing him over and over again... She screamed and found herself falling forward, forward into nothingness.


	3. This is Very Bad

1**...This is Very Bad**

She hit the ground sobbing, not caring about anything or anyone. All that mattered was crying long and hard enough that maybe she would drown herself, or just kill herself from grief. That was her only comfort, and so she sobbed and shook, working herself into a tighter and tighter knot.

"Dot, Dot, what happened to you?"

She heard nothing.

"Dot, look at me!" Dot felt herself being rudely jerked upwards by a pair of rough hands. Loose cloth fell against her body, and some sick and twisted part of her mind told her she was still in the Game.

"No, Mouse, no," Dot whimpered, clinging to the front of Mouse's robes with her eyes shut.

Alarmed, Mouse eased Dot back down onto the floor and held her, stroking her hair. "What happened, Sugah? One nano you were beside me on the other side of the door, and suddenly you were crying..."

"Bob," Dot choked.

Mouse paused. "What about him, Honey?"

Dot shook her head miserably, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "I saw him...Mouse, why did I have to see him?" she shouted. It just wasn't fair; nothing bad had happened to Mouse when she had jumped through the floating door.

"I don't know, Honey. This Game can do terrible things..."

Dot lifted her head. "Terrible? Is that the best word you can find? Mouse, 'terrible' doesn't describe what I've just been through!"

For a nano, the only sound to be heard was Dot's weak sobbing. Mouse bit her lip and looked around them. After a while, Mouse said, "Come on, let's go."

Dot crumpled away from Mouse. "Leave me here...just leave me. I can't do this anymore. I don't have a reason to..."

"Dot, I'm surprised at you! Sugah, we've got save Mainframe from Megabyte."

"Uhk...why bother? We're dead anyway." Dot stared blindly at the floor, willing herself to sink into it.

"Dot Matrix, what would Bob say if he could hear you now?"

"Bob?" Dot blurted out, "Bob's dead. He's not coming back." Her voice was dead as a scorched ABC. She looked up at Mouse as if nothing in the net were clearer than this fact.

" I still think he'd be ashamed of you," Mouse confirmed, and bent over and scooped Dot off the floor, refusing to let her give up. "You're going to win this Game with me. If you want to lock yourself in your office afterwards and cry until you drown yourself, that's your business. I'll be sure to tell Phonge you gave up on Bob."

Mouse put her arm around Dot's waist and began walking her along the castle corridor. "Don't try the guilt trip on me, Mouse, it won't work." And indeed, it sounded as if it wouldn't.

The best Mouse could figure was that Dot was transported into some dimension that inflicted emotional torture on its victim. Dot refused to say anything concerning her split-nano experience, and sullenly plodded along beside Mouse, her wand dangling uselessly at her side.

Mouse held her wand at the ready, but nothing new came up to challenge their progress towards the top floor. This worried Mouse, and she became very agitated and jumpy. The slightest noise caused Dot no anxiety, but Mouse figured that was because she'd lost the will to fight, if not to live.

The final corridor was dark and chilly. Mouse felt a sense of foreboding as soon as they entered it. As if in response to her anxiety, the torches on either side of the corridor flamed up, and solid metal doors drove themselves into the floor on either end of the corridor, trapping them.

Dot raised her head and blinked rather slowly, as if barely registering her surroundings. Immediately, Mouse backed up behind Dot and looked around, ready for an attack, but none came.

"Where do we go?" asked Dot lethargically, as if taking the idea of hiding in her office to heart.

Mouse glanced over her shoulder at her. "I suppose we should try the different doors," she said pointing at the doors that lined the corridors.

Dot nodded mutely, waiting for Mouse to carry out her own suggestion. Mouse shrugged and, finding the closest door, gave it a tug. Beyond the doorway there seemed to be nothing but a swirling mist. As if eager to escape its chamber, the dark mist floated out into the corridor.

The mist was, on first impression, unimpressive. Mouse raised an eyebrow as it rolled into the corridor. In contrast, Dot's eyes grew wide and she backed away, as if the mist would inflict some pain worse than total deletion upon her. Mouse stared curiously at the floating darkness, until the screaming reached her ears.

_"Run, Mouse! Run!"_

_"Daddy...!"_

_"Go!"_

Mouse jumped back from the door, which was still wide open, and pointed her wand at the smoke. "Leave!" she shouted, pained, but the mist paid her no heed. Again the shrieking assaulted her ears, wracking her insides with inexpressible horror. She had heard these voices screaming before, and terrible things had happened.

_"Dad! Get away from the Game! Dad! No...Dad!" Mouse watched, horror bound, as the huge purple Game Cube began clawing its way through the sky of her home system. _

_Her father was running as fast as he could towards her, shouting at her to get out of the way. She turned and ran as fast as her short legs would carry her, casting frequent glances over her shoulder at her father._

_Other people in the system screamed as the Cube appeared out of the sky and began its rapid descent. If she or her father were caught in the Game, they would be deleted, win or loose. They couldn't Reboot. _

_Mouse looked up and shouted for joy, realizing she had escaped the path of the Cube. If she could do it, then so could her dad. She spun around, expecting to see him, tired and panting, but safe, right behind her. He wasn't there. Mouse's eye's grew wide._

_"Dad! Daddy!"_

_Her dad was lying on the ground, shaking. The Cube was coming down, seemingly faster and faster. "Dad!" Mouse took a step forward, but her father's voice carried to her ears._

_"Stay there, Mouse! Don't watch...go!" He raised his head and looked at her. She realized what had happened. His knee had given out on him again. It was always giving him trouble, but not now...it couldn't now, not when he was in danger. Mouse felt frozen to the ground. A purple hue cast shadows over the sector where her father was lying._

_"Daddy! Don't..."_

_"Mouse...take care of yourself, Sugar!"_

_Mouse screamed with rage and terror as the Game slammed down in front of her face, sealing her father in his grave._

"Mouse, close the door!" Dot shouted, now pointing her wand at the mist, as if it was a familiar adversary.

As if she had been knocked over the head, Mouse came to her senses and thrust the door closed, but the mist remained. Frantic, Mouse sought Dot, but could not see her. "Dot! Where?"

"Evaporate!" came Dot's voice from the mist, and immediately the fog began to thin. Shaking, Mouse shrank back against the wall, sweating. She hadn't thought about her father in seconds, if not hours. She was barely 1.0 when he was nullified.

Dot was standing in the middle of the corridor, her eyes closed and her breathing deep. "I fell through that mist. I heard...I heard the worst moments of my life over again." She opened her eyes and locked her purple eyes with Mouse's. "That's what you were hearing."

"No kidding," sighed Mouse.

They stared around for a nano, collecting their courage. After a few nanos had passed, Dot kicked at the wall. "I hate this Game."

Mouse nodded fervently. She glanced around the corridor, collecting herself. "We'd better get going. Which door next?"

Dot moved a few more doors towards the end of the corridor. "Why not this one?"

Now Mouse understood why Dot had wanted to give up. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to forget her long-dead father, and nodded. "Keep your wand ready, Sugah."

Mouse pulled. The door opened. Nothing happened. Confused, she poked her head around the doorframe, peering into the corridor. It was long and dark, but at the very end, a deep blue door was glowing. "That must be the entrance to the final chamber," said Mouse, starting around the door. She looked back to see if Dot was still behind her.

"Mouse!" Dot shouted and pointed down the corridor. Mouse turned to see what she was looking at.

There, running towards a deep blue door, she could see, was the User. "Dot, lets go!" and they plunged down the corridor.

"Halt!" shouted Dot and Mouse in unison. Bright sparks shot from their wands, but had no affect on the User, who was gaining ground with every step.

"It's not working, Mouse!" panted Dot desperately.

"Don't look at me, Honey! You're the one whose wand always seems to work!" Mouse spat back, running for her life.

The User's cloak billowed out around him as he neared the door. Frustrated, Dot pointed her wand at the ceiling above him. "Crumble!" she shouted.

There was a mighty jolt, and ceiling began to fragment. Dust came shooting out of the ceiling and the walls, making the corridor slippery. A huge chunk came hurtling down on the User, and he fell to the ground.

"Yes!" exclaimed Mouse as they hurtled past the User and the crumbling stone. Mouse reached and grasped the door handle, pulling mightily. The door gave way easily, and Dot and Mouse caught a glimpse of the Wand of Enlightenment on a scarlet cushion in the middle of the floor, a ray of sunlight illuminating it. That was all they got see, however, because just then, the building gave another mighty lurch, and the ceiling began to give way in the final chamber.

"Looks like I got a little carried away," shouted Dot over the noise.

"Forget about that, let's just get that Wand and get out of here!" returned Mouse, looking warily over her shoulder at the User, who was fighting his way to the doorframe. He was nearly there. Grabbing Dot's sleeve, Mouse pulled both of them towards the Wand.

As Mouse reached down to grasp it, a huge boulder tumbled from the ceiling, Dot shrieked in pain.

_Just get the Wand,_ thought Mouse wildly, and, forgetting about Dot, she grabbed the Wand up just as the whole castle began to give way.


	4. Guardian Angel

1**Guardian Angel**

"Game over."

The statement was simple, but it meant victory. Another precious cycle bought. Mouse heaved a sigh of relief as the Game slipped upwards.

It looked like they had lost. Mainframe was in such bad condition that every sector looked as though it had suffered nullification. Everything was smoking and smoldering; the heat coming from the ground in some places had made minor tears.

Below her, something groaned in pain. She looked down and saw Dot sprawled on the ground in front of her, unmoving. Horror grew within her, and she fell to her knees beside her friend, shaking her shoulders.

"Dot! Dot, can you hear me?"

"Does it hurt much?" asked a gentle voice.

Dot blinked heavily, feeling drowsy. "Yeah..." she muttered, letting her eyes gradually sort through the haze she saw. There was nothing around her but empty white space. And him. Again.

Panic rose in Dot's chest; afraid that she had plunged back into her torturous dream. But as she looked at him, there was no trace of playfulness or happiness on his face. He was looking at her with a sad sort of resigned expression.

"You gave up on me, Dot," he said finally. His eyes twitched and a single tear fell down his cheek.

The words ricocheted through her mind, leaving welts everywhere they hit. Her breath caught in her chest. "Bob...no."

If possible, he looked even sadder. "I haven't given up on you, Dot. I'll always believe you're alive and fighting." There was a forsaken pleading in his voice she had never heard before.

Dot felt a chilled tear hit her own cheek. Her throat closed up and her head throbbed. Ashamed, she hung her head. She wanted to look at him, wanted more than anything else in the net to look at him, because this Bob seemed so much more real than the other one, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. It was true, she _had_ betrayed him.

His hand found her shoulder. "Please don't give up on me. I'll come home. And Dot...don't give up on Enzo either." His voice was taut with emotion.

Dot raised her head, blinking past her tears to see him next to her, eyes begging for her to believe in him again. "Bob...I won't... I'm so sorry..."

Bob shook his head, putting a finger on her lips. "Shhh. I know."

"Is it really you?" she whispered.

"No," he murmured, smiling softly. "But I'm telling you the truth, Dot."

"I miss you," she sobbed quietly, looking at him, trying to remember everything about him again. Even in the few seconds he had been gone, she had forgotten so much.

"I miss you too,"he said, and wrapped her up a warm, healing embrace. Drained of everything, Dot clung to him desperately, letting his presence soothe her troubled mind. The longer she stayed in his arms, the stronger she felt, as if she was feeding off his memory. Energy came flooding back into her long-exhausted body, her mind cleared and focused, and the ever-present headache melted away. At long last, she pulled away from him, smiling.

Bob looked satisfied with her reaction. He smiled, looking down at her affectionately. "Better?" he asked.

"Much."

"Good. Now go give Megabyte a real taste of Mainframe tradition."

Dot cocked her head, confused.

Bob laughed a bit. "'If you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. It's tradition."

Dot felt a tiny bubble of laughter push at her throat. "I remember."

He gave her jaunty, confident look, and winked. "Stay frosty, Dot."

"Dot! Dot, can you hear me?"

Dot groaned and sat up, distant laughter echoing in her ears. "Mouse?" she looked around at the deserted sector. "The Game?"

"We won, Sugah. You got a nasty bump on the head, though. You okay?" Mouse took her arm and helped her up.

"Yes." Dot turned around, taking a good look at Mainframe. After a nano, she looked at Mouse, confident. "You know, Mouse, I really think we can win this."

Mouse raised an eyebrow and regarded Dot. How many cycles had passed since she had seen Dot confident and assertive? Too many. She grinned at Dot. "That's our fearless leader," she said approvingly.

"Thanks," muttered Dot. "Lets get back to the Principle Office. They'll be wondering where we've gone." And she strode off towards the middle of the system.

Mouse watched her go for a moment, shaking her head in admiration. She had no clue what had happened to Dot inside the Game. She had been so depressed, and now... Mouse shrugged and started after her friend.

An angel must be watching over Dot Matrix, she decided. Time and again the stubborn sprite had been shot down, and her future looked no brighter than her past. And yet, she always managed to get up again. Mouse smiled tenderly. Yes, an angel _was_ watching over Dot. A Guardian Angel.


End file.
